下载文档原格式
1.3 Design features of languageDesign features: the features that define our human languages. They make our language advantageous over animal “languages”.1.3.1 ArbitrarinessThe forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning. (Saussure)(1) Arbitrary relationship between the sound of a morpheme andits meaning(2) At the syntactic level(3) Arbitrariness and convention1.3.2 Duality“ By duality is meant the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its ownprinciples of organization” (Lyon, 1982:20).Advantage: A large number of different units can be formed our of a small number of elements.1.3.3 CreativityLanguage can produce sentence that has never been heard. Language is resourceful because of its duality andrecursiveness.1.3.4 DisplacementHuman languages enable their users to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present ( in time and space) at the moment of communication.Other design featuresCultural transmissionLanguage is passed down from generation to generation. Human being must be exposed to language environment.InterchangeabilityAny human being can be both a producer and receiver of the message.1.4 Origin of languageThe bow-wow theoryThe pooh-pooh theoryThe “yo-he-ho” theory1.5 Functions of language1.5.1 Informative1.5.2 Interpersonal function1.5.3 Performative1.5.4 Emotive function1.5.5 Phatic communion1.5.6 Recreational function1.5.7 Metalingual function1.6 What is linguistics?Linguistics is the scientific study of language.1.7 Main branches of linguistics1.7.1 PhoneticsPhonetics is the subfield of linguistics that studies speech sounds in human language.Major domains: Articulatory phonetics, Acoustic phonetics, Auditory phonetics1.7.2 Phonology-Phonology is the subfield of linguistics that studies the sound pattern of a language. -It deals with the rules governing the structure,distribution and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables.-Phonetics vs. PhonologyPhonetics is the study of speech sounds that the human voice is capable of creating whereas phonology is the study of a subset of those sounds that constitute language and meaning. The first focus on chaos while the second focuses on order.1.7.3 MorphologyMorphology is the subfield of linguistics that studies the internal structure of words and the relationships among words.1.7.4 SyntaxSyntax is the subfield of linguistics that studies the internal structure of sentences and the relationships among the internal parts.1.7.5 SemanticsSemantics is the subfield of linguistics that studies the nature of the meaning of individual words, and the meaning of wordsgrouped into phrases and sentences.1.7.6 PragmaticsPragmatics is the subfield of linguistics that studies the use of words, phrases and sentences in the actual context of discourse.1.8 Macrolinguistics1.8.1 PsycholinguisticsPsycholinguistics studies the relationship between language and mind. It also studies language development in the child, biological foundations of language and the relationship between language and cognition.1.8.2 SociolinguisticsSociolinguistics is the study of characteristics of language varieties, the characteristics of their functions, and thecharacteristics of their speakers.1.8.3 Anthropological linguisticsAnthropological linguistics is the study of the history and structure of formerly unwritten languages. They are concerned with the emergence and divergence of languages over thousands of years.1.8.4 Computational linguisticsComputational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which centers around the use of computers to process or produce human language.1.9 Important distinctions in linguistics1.9.1 Descriptive vs. prescriptive-Descriptive (non-normative): to describe what people say. “… the linguist tries to discover and record the rules to which the members of a language-community actually conform and does not seek to impose upon them other rules, or norms, of correctness.” (Lyon, 1982:47)-Prescriptive: to prescribe how people should say. In the 18th century, the grammarians tried to lay down rules for the correct use oflanguage and settle the disputes over usage once and for all.1.9.2 Synchronic vs. diachronic-Synchronic linguistics is the study of a given language at a given period of time. E.g. “A Grammar of Modern Greek”-Diachronic linguistics is the study of the changes the language has experienced.1.9.3 Langue & parole (Saussure)-Langue is the abstract linguistic form or system shared by all the members of a speech community. It is a social product. It is a set of convention.-Parole is the actual or actualized language. It is the concrete use of the conventions or application of the rules.1.9.4 Competence and performance (Chomsky)-Competence refers to the ideal language speaker’s underlying knowledge about the system of rules.-Performance refers to the actual use of language by the speaker in concrete situation.1.9.5 Etic vs. Emic (Pike)Questions and ExercisesDo you think that onomatopoeia indicates a non-arbitrary relationship between form and meaning?Does the traffic light system have duality, why?Communication can take many forms, such as sign, speech, body language and facial expression. Do body language and facial expressionshare or lack the distinctive properties of human language?Can you mention some typical expressions of phatic communion in Chinese?。
Chapter 4 SyntaxSyntax: the study of the formation of sentences. Since sentence is usually regarded as the largest grammatical unit of a language, syntax has long been the center of grammatical study. This chapter introduces four representative approaches in treating sentence structure: the traditional approach, the structural approach, the generative approach and the functional approach.4.1 The traditional approach4.1.1 Number, gender and caseNumber: singular and pluralCase:1)Pronouns: nominative(I, he, she), accusative(me, him,her), genetive(my, your, his)2)Nouns: general(John, boy), genitive(John’s, boys’)4.1.2 Tense and aspectTenses: past and presentAspect: perfective(perfect) and progressive(continuous)4.1.3 Concord and governmentConcord(Agreement) is the requirement that the forms of two or more words in a syntactic relationship should agree with each other in terms of some categories. Eg. this man, these men; a book, some booksGovernment is another type of control the form of some words by other words in certain syntactic constructions. It differs from concord in that this is a relationship in which a word of a certain class determines the form of others in terms of certain category.Eg. She gave him a book. She gave a book to him.4.2 The structural approach4.2.1 Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations (Saussure) -Signified(concept) and signifier (sound image)-Syntagmatic relation(structure, horizontal relation,chain relation):the relation between one item and others in a sequence-Paradigmatic relation(system, vertical relation, choicerelation): the relation between elements replaceable with each other at a particular place in a structure, or between one element present and the others absent.4.2.2 Immediate constituent analysis(IC analysis)-construction and constituents(Bloomfield)-immediate constituents-ultimate constituents-IC analysis:the analysis of a sentence in terms of its immediate constituents---word groups (or phrases), which are in turn analyzed into the immediate constituents of their own, and the process goes on until the ultimate constituents are reached.ex.1 (a) ( ( Poor) (John) ) ( ( ran) ( away) )(b) Poor John ran awayex.2 John left yesterdayex.3 dis place mentAdvantage:Through IC analysis, the internal structure of a sentence may be demonstrated clearly, and ambiguities will be revealed.Ex. 1.(a) Leave the book on the shelf(b) Leave the book on the shelf(b) my small child’s cot(c) my small child’s cotEx.3(a) The son of Pharaoh’s daughter is the daughter of Pharaoh’s son(b) The son of Pharaoh’s daughter is the daughter of Pharaoh’s sonEx.4(Labelled tree diagram)more expensive clothes more expensive clothes Adj Adj N Adv Adj NNP APNP NPEx.5(Is he really) that kind? (Is he really) that kind?Det N Adv AdjNP APEX.6They can fish herePron Aux V AdvPron V N Adv-Problems:1) Binary division ? Old men and women2) Discontinuous constituents ? make it up4.2.3 Endocentric and exocentric constructions-Endocentric construction(headed construction) is a construction whose distribution isfunctionally equivalent, or approachingequivalence, to one of its constituents, whichserve as the center/head of the whole.e.g. poor John, the three small children1) Subordinate construction:only one head (e.g.really very late, the book on the shelf, walked away immediately)2) Coordinate construction:more than one head(e.g.boys and girls, coffee or tea, the city Rome)-Exocentric construction is a construction whose distribution is not functionally equivalent to any of its constituents.e.g.Prepositional phrases ：on the shelf, if he is goingBasic sentences ：The girl smiled.? Verb plus object constructions ：visit Bill, read books。
